InstaPundit cites Iowahawk‘s claim that “A Briton is 5 times more likely to die from government health care than an American is to die from a gunshot,” citing this source, which quoted reports based on 2009 data revealing that because of errors there are “nearly 12,000 preventable deaths in hospitals in England every year.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there were 11,493 firearms homicides in the U.S. in 2009, about the same number as deaths by hospital in Great Britain. Since the population of the U.S. is about five times greater than Great Britain’s 62 million, Iowahawk’s conclusion seems about right, if you substitute “die from a firearm homicide” for his “die from a gunshot.” (In 2011 there were about 35,000 gun related deaths in the U.S., which includes suicides and accidents.)